by Scott Stephenson for the Sarnia Observer

(2003) The history of firefighting in the city predates even The Observer. The first public meeting held to organize some type of fire protection for the community was held in 1840 and resulted in the creation of the St. Clair #1 Volunteer Fire Brigade, according to Sarnia Fire Service records.

By 1857, The Observer was reporting a total of four fire companies had been formed and were operating in the city. St. Clair Engine Company was located at the foot of George Street. Hook and Ladder Company was based at Christina and Wellington Streets, Beaver Hose Company was on London Road and Phoenix Engine Company on George Street. Since then, firefighting has evolved into a well-organized team of professionals equipped with tools early firefighters could only dream about. Thermal imaging cameras, aerial platform ladder trucks, rescue vehicles and state-of-the-art extrication equipment are all found around today’s fire halls.

“Technology has really moved ahead. It’s gone from hand-pulled hose cars and leather bucket brigades,” said Chief Richard Boyes. The most dramatic change in technology over the years has been in personal safety. “The major change that has evolved even in the last 30 years has been the self-contained breathing apparatus,” said Boyes. The new equipment has also relegated the term “smoke-eater” to the history books. “That was the history of the bearded firefighter and the mustaches and dipping the beards in water and breathing through that to filter out the smoke,” he said. “The term smoke-eater came about by how much smoke the guys could do.” Today, firefighters wouldn’t dream of going into a fire without an air mask.

A few decades ago, houses and their contents were made of wood and plaster and natural fabrics. Today, composite materials are found in just about everything around us, and they burn hotter and produce toxic gases. “One of the greatest strides the fire service has made has been in the protection of its firefighters,” said Boyes, only the department’s 12th chief since 1893.

The earliest records of the Sarnia fire department date to 1893, when the roll call register listed John C. Mahoney as the first chief of a 16-member volunteer force. The city’s lone pumper was pulled by horse. Indeed, horses were an integral part of the department until the last two, Mike and Barney, were retired in 1922, four years after the first motorized pumpers were introduced.

Under Boyes [Ed. Note- in 2003] the city operates with a staff of more than 110, including Deputy Chief Pat Cayen, 104 full-time firefighters, four fire prevention officers, one officer in public education and two dedicated to training. The department’s five stations are equipped with eight trucks, three pumpers, one rescue, two 70-foot aerial telesquirts and a tanker.

No. 2 fire hall was built in 1952 in Bluewater and moved to its current location on Churchill Road in July 1966,while the No. 3 station on Colborne Road was opened in 1954. The present headquarters on East Street, No. 1 station, opened in 1965. The No. 4 Wellington and No. 5 Telfer Sideroad stations were added when the former town of Clearwater and the City of Sarnia amalgamated on January 1, 1991. Boyes became chief in September, 1997, replacing Owen Forsythe, who had served as chief for approximately two years. Before him, Robert Timms served as chief from 1991 to 1995, having joined the city fire department during the amalgamation of Sarnia and Clearwater. Following amalgamation, the city did away with the volunteer component of the former force, opting to go with a fully professional fire department.

Between 1893 and 1921, the city’s fire department averaged between 50 and 75 alarms a year. In 2002, firefighters responded to 1,983 calls for service, including 71 incidents involving property loss totalling $1.9 million.

The history of major fires is rather vague, because in most cases the entries in the fire record book for the past 110 years record only insurance carried and loss. Two historic fires of note occurred

  • May 17, 1896. Flames destroyed the Grain Elevator and Flour Mill operated by James King. The fire also damaged 10 other buildings in the area and departments from Point Edward and Port Huron were called upon. Damage was $40,000.
  • 13, 1900. The Sarnia department was called to Port Huron to assist fighting a fire with equipment sent over on the ferry “Hiawatha.” They had just got to work when a telephone call from Sarnia informed them the fire was out and they unpacked their equipment again. The Sarnia alarm went off again and the firefighters packed up their equipment and boarded the ferry for a return trip home to put out a fire at the J.H. Wood Company.